The Tools I (mis-)Use

I'm kicking things off by laying the groundwork. These are the tools that I currently (mis-)use to go from idea nugget to final draft (well, as final as I've made it so far). I may come back and update this post in the future, if/when I do I'll be sure to highlight any changes and why they've occurred.

Software:
Scrivener 2
I first started using Scrivener for NaNoWriMo. I'd seen a web demo of it as part of the NaNo prep and instantly fell in love with ONE feature, the full-screen "Compose" view that I still use to this day. Literature and Latte often (if not always) provide a free NaNo demo version and a hefty discount on the full version as one of the NaNo rewards.

What "Compose" does is put you one on one with your words. It clears away all the other parts of the UI (except any floating Scrivener windows you pull up such as Project Targets). It was exactly what I needed to be able to concentrate on getting words down.

Since that fateful November I've come to use more of Scrivener's features such as labels, notes, synopsis cards, the binder, text statistics (including a handy word frequency chart), and its more than robust compiler that lets me turn my MS into various other formats (epub, mobi, docx, rtf, etc.).

There's so much more to this software that I haven't even begun to experiment with, but working without the tools that I use already would seriously hamper how quickly I write (which still isn't fast enough).

Scapple
Another Literature and Latte product, I've replaced my previous mind-mapping/whiteboard software with Scapple because of some of its integration with Scrivener 2.

Scapple, while simpler than other mind-mapping software, provides me with all the features I need, which is a very basic free-form mind-mapping software that I can drop text, documents, and images into.

 I use it for outlining, detailing scenes, and connecting plot-points and characters during my brainstorming sessions. It also does a great job of making confusing and busy-looking spider-webs of text that scare people away when I'm working on them... but that has more to do with my (dis)organizational methods than the software itself.

Google Keep
I'm an Android user, plain and simple. I prefer Android phones and tablets to iOS. In that vein, when I went looking for a light-weight note-taking app that allowed me to fire off quick cloud-based notes from a browser or app, using a keyboard or voice dictation (with both an audio recording and passable speech-to-text), Google Keep was exactly what I needed.

Instead of carrying a trendy little Moleskin notebook in an oversized pocket or an equally trendy satchel carrier bag, I can simply carry my phone. Which I can shout at in the car. It doesn't look that crazy.

Google Keep also syncs it across all my various devices (yay cloud) so I don't have to go searching for whatever device I made the notes on.

Apple Pages
Like Microsoft Word, Apple Pages is a fairly full-featured word processor that's available on my iPad Air 2 and MacBook Pro.

With the addition of Handoff, a Mac OSX 10.10/iOS8 real-time file-in-progress push between the two, and I can start writing on one device and immediately pick it up on another. Throw in that Apple made it free on both platforms (with the latest OS updates) and I was sold.

Microsoft Word
Word is what I grew up on and use on a daily basis in the day job. When it comes to revising and reviewing feedback and markup Word is still where I'm comfortable and I know the formatting won't be screwed up when I send the files to other Word users. Someday Word may fall off this list, but for now it has a pretty comfortable and safe spot.

Dropbox
A life-saver. Combining Dropbox, which is a cloud-storage service, with Scrivener and almost all the rest of these tools, means I can work practically anywhere with any device. It also gives me the peace of mind I need, knowing that not only is my data backed up, but if I somehow corrupt or otherwise blow up my MS I can restore a previous version.

On top of those benefits, unlike certain other cloud storage services, Dropbox leaves and updates local copies to my various machines, so in the event that the internet isn't accessible I can still get my work done.

TiddlyWiki
This is the latest addition to this list. TiddlyWiki is a local (or online) light weight personal wiki. I picked it up when I started working on the sequel to Crow's Blood, and it's a far superior method of tracking semi-important details consistent (character descriptions, magic systems, fictional history, place descriptions, etc.). Because keeping all your details straight is important for some reason.

As with any wiki language, there's a bit of a learning curve to get going, but TiddlyWiki keeps it easier than some of the other ones I tried, while offering a robust enough base to do what I need.

Twitter
Twitter gets an honourable mention because it's an integral part of what stops me from losing my mind or running in circles of self-doubt. Writing is, by nature, a solitary craft. Twitter lets me find and chat with a community of writers at all stages of the process for support and conversation.

Hardware:
MacBook Pro
My MacBook Pro is my workhorse! I love the keyboard because typing on it is effortless. There's no "clack" (which I know some people love) and the resistance is just right. Then there's the trackpad, which is something you'd think one of the myriad of OEM's in the laptop space would have come close to, but they haven't. It's true what they say once you go Mac you never go back...

Unless it's for games, but even then you can't find better laptop hardware to run Windows...

Moto X
As I said earlier, I'm an Android user, and this is my phone (one of them anyway). The dedicated voice processing unit built into this phone does WONDERS for taking dictation in my overly noisy commute.

iPad Air 2 with my Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard
Wait... what? Didn't I say I was an Android user? Well... I am. My "play" tablet is, and always will be an Android tablet (currently an Asus Transformer).

But my iPad makes for better productivity. It's lightweight and mobile in ways that even my MacBook Pro isn't. And unlike my Android tablet, it has everything I need for writing, even its limitations play into making me more productive (here's looking at you frustrating one-task-at-a-time UI). It also has Pages which I mention above, and very few games that I want to sink a lot of time into (which means less distraction).

It makes for interesting trips through airport security. I have to explain why I carry 2 tablets, a laptop, and 2 phones (personal and business). Every. Single. Time.

Other:
Coffee
Because staying awake is important.

These are the tools I currently use in all aspects of my writing. Looking at them I'm sure there are plenty of more efficient ways to do what needs to be done. Maybe someday I'll find them.

Let me know what tools you use, or think I could put to better use, in the comments.

- Alex

This is the first entry in a series of posts about my evolving writing process.

***Warning: Incoming Blog Posts***

So. Here's the deal:
I've been mulling and tumbling ideas for a series of blog posts around in my noggin  for a LONG time about how my writing process itself is developing and changing. Both as an insight into how I do things now and how much work goes into my writing, and as a possible source of feedback.

That's right, comments and feedback on this upcoming series of posts will be greatly appreciated. I'm looking to as much to learn and improve my craft and processes as I am to tell others about them. As much as I may play at being awesome and perfect, the truth is that I'm not.

No, no! Stop weeping and tearing at your hair. It's true.

You see, I've been having a bit of performance anxiety. Before Crow's Blood I'd never written a novel before. I was an infrequent short story writer. And people that have seen CB seem to like it. It even got me an awesome agent! I'm terrified to my bones that CB2 won't live up to it. That it'll be my sophomore slump. And I don't want that (who would?).

What that all means is that I don't have a solid process to work from. I have pieces here and there, tools that I use and have found immensely helpful, and very specific ways that I do certain things. I'm looking to improve on it all, and the best way to do that is to write it all out and (hopefully) get feedback.

Topics I intend to cover (and this is by no means a static list, things may be moved around, added, or combined as I go along):

The Tools I (mis)Use
The Idea: Something from nothing.
Brainstorming: Expanding the idea.
Characters and Characterization: Who are these people?
Plot: Where are we going and why are we in this hand-basket?
Outlining vs Pantsing: Why choose just one?
Worldbuilding: It's in the details.
Revising

A Matter of Queries and Representation

What a week and a half it's been!

I apologize in advance for any meandering, poor spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors you may find in this post. I don't sleep well on a normal day (what is a normal day anyway?). The past 10 days my abilities to ward off restful sleep have been exceptional. This is a superpower you do NOT want.

Before I get into my big news (and it's big, let me tell you, it's BIG), let me give you a bit of background.

I don't query randomly. Every single agent that I've ever queried is someone that I genuinely think would be a great fit for both my writing and, more importantly, me. That's of course all based on the limited information I can gather by Googling, reading interviews, stalking on Twitter, and chatting them up.

There are a LOT of fantastic agents out there, of all stripes (and spots, and paisley, and I suppose houndstooth...).

That said, everything has to click in both directions. I have enough rejections from those same agents citing "wonderful writing/world building/characters/other words describing stories" but they just didn't "make the connection" (or some variant thereof) to wallpaper my office and some surrounding surfaces.

They came fast and fairly consistently at first. I'd query, and then receive a rejection the next day or week.

I went back and rewrote my base query letter (I tweaked it a little for every agent). Responses went from generic forms to personalized responses (not all of them, but some). I even had a few requests for partial submissions.

Following that path I continue to tweak and tinker my query, all the while continuing to get further input on CROW'S BLOOD from my awesome Alpha/Beta Readers (including my wonderful wife, who put up with so MANY drafts) and Critique Partners (Colten,
Rachel, and Clare) and worked to make it better.

I entered CROW'S BLOOD in contests. You know the best part about contests? The community and support that comes out of them. They're a fixed point. Everyone entering is (in theory) at the same point of their writing process and/or career as you are. They know what you're going through, they're doing it too.

Renee Ahdieh chose to mentor me in Brenda Drake's Pitch Wars. With her helpful pokes and prods I polished CROW'S BLOOD even further. Trimming out a few scenes that were so necessary in my head (I'd done so much world building to support them!) that weren't actually needed in the book. She's also a master at spotting my Shatner Commas and teaching me to identify them as well (I've removed 3 from this paragraph alone).

Last week I got wind of an agent I really liked reading my full... MY FULL!!! Excitement warred with dread. What if he didn't like it? What if I didn't stick the landing? I wanted to scream (politely) "If you find anything drastic, I'll fix it!". But I didn't. Because I am a professional! (stop laughing!)

I waited, and slept poorly, and waited.

Thursday was a normal day (there's that "normal" word again). Things teetered on the edge of going oh-so-perfectly and/or blowing up spectacularly at my day job. I was packing up to go home when my phone sounded the "email in the writing mailbox" notification (it doesn't say that, but it is distinctive).

It was an Offer of Representation! He wanted to have "The Call".

I hyperventilated for the first (and hopefully last) time in my life. I had an offer! From an agent!!! I remember thinking "Ok I need to get my head on straight before I reply so I don't come off as a complete idiot..." I barely remember the drive home.

After dinner (I have no idea what, or if, I ate) I painstakingly crafted my reply. It took me 35 minutes to write and edit that email.

"I'd love to chat." (I'm paraphrasing, but that was about the level of awesome I was functioning at). We scheduled for the next morning.

The call was awesome. I acted like a complete noob while trying to be all professional and cool. The agent in question handled the situation like I was a sane and perfectly functioning adult.

He answered all of my questions and asked a few of his own (which I think/hope I answered).  I let him know I had some other Fulls out and needed a week to get those settled before I signed (because it's the right thing to do), which he was completely cool with. We ended the call, and I sat there, stunned, for a good 30 minutes before reaching out to the other agents with my full.

Here we are, a week after that call. I've badgered several agents with questions and clarifications, and I've communicated and settled everything with each and every agent that had my full, a partial, or even a query. I won't go into details on all of that here, they're not the point.

Today, I'm proud/pleased/excited to say:

I am now represented by Leon Husock of the L. Perkins Agency!

P.S. Leon said to save some of my celebratory antics for when we sell CROW'S BLOOD.
To which I say:
Leon, this is nothing. When that happens, the world won't know what hit it!

I'm going to sleep now.

I Refuse to Aspire Any Longer

Time for an untimely blog post (because that's what I do lately when I'm in the throes of writing). This will hopefully be a short one (or not, depends on whether or not I get wind-baggy. The fact that this is the second parentheses in as many sentences does not bode well for that).

I've unceremoniously obliterated the word "Aspiring" from this blog's title. I've had enough. I refuse to "aspire" to be a writer any more. I've spent the better part of 4 years... that's right...
FOUR... 
YEARS...
..."aspiring" to be a writer.

I've written a longer-than-novel length work. Re-written it from the ground up with a new main character and a tighter plot. Revised that 6 times and pared it down. Polished it. Had it Critiqued. Re-polished it. Queried it. Received a mountain of rejections. Received more than a few requests for more pages. I've even sent out a few full manuscripts when they were requested. I've received rejections on those.

More than that, I've written other stuff. I have outlines and "voice/character" vignettes written for four more books. I've written 45,000 words on one of them and 16,000 words on another. All while "aspiring" to be a writer.


Well, I quit. I'm done. No more. This "aspiring writer" thing is for chumps and I'm not going to play that game. I'm taking that ball and going home.

 I have better things to do with my time.


Like being an actual writer. Lets get down to the point of the matter. I haven't been "aspiring" to be a writer since that first time I wrote "the end" (all in lower case, just like that) at the end of a ~140,000 word manuscript. It didn't have to be that long (it's now ~91,000 words), but it was. And I made it start to finish (not necessarily in that order).

So it's time I got honest, not just with you, fair readers (few as you are, you're important enough to be honest with), but also to myself. I'm not "aspiring" to be a writer any more. That's not a label I can hide behind whenever someone doesn't take my writing seriously. Playing off it as some sort of self-effacing joke.

It doesn't matter that I'm not published (yet!). It doesn't matter that I don't have an agent (yet!).

I take my writing very seriously. This is not a hobby for me (and it's fine if it is for other people). I will continue down this path, working to improve my craft.

I am a writer. I don't have time to aspire.

- Alex

The Circus Won't Have Me (I Can't Juggle).

Ahem! So it's July. My last entry was in May. Glad to see I'm keeping on top of this blog thing!
The good news about the delay between posts is that I've been writing, and I've learned something.

There are writers out there who can write multiple stories at the same time, and there are those who can't. At present I firmly reside in the realm of Nope! Can't do it! I've tried and it's been an ongoing disaster that I've only recently started to dig myself out of.

Now, when I say "write" I do mean exactly that. I have no trouble writing one story and revising or outlining another. But if I try to actually write two stories at once? Catastrophe! Disaster! Calamity! Cataclysm! Armageddon! You get the picture. We're talking problems of the Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and Steve Buscemi together on a rocket ship proportions.

I've been writing an Alt History/Fantasy since October of last year. I continued working on it, albeit at a slower pace, through Pitch Madness, without a hitch. I discussed where things started to get out of hand in April. Since that time I've actually been writing fairly consistently at least 300 words a day, 5 days a week. Not a great pace, but the habit is back, and that's great.

I've had a few incredible story ideas sneak up on me, as they tend to, while I got my groove back. That's great right? Awesome story ideas that just keep coming? What's there to complain about? Well, Writer's Block has never been a worry for me. I doubt I'll ever have a shortage of ideas. I worry more about a shortage of time. If they keep coming I may never have enough time to write them all in the manner they deserve.

So, those incredible story ideas. Yeah. I couldn't wait. I dug into one pretty heavily (a sci-fi, a genre I love and have wanted to sink my teeth into), and it consumed me. I wrote a barebones outline, then dug into a few test scenes and character spots. I really love the feel and scope of it. I was really rolling with it, at least until I hit the first plot hole in the outline.

I can handle that just fine normally by digging in and getting my hands dirty in the muck. But I had another story sitting around 40K words in that I could just jump over to and work on right? Lots of writers do it! It couldn't be that hard... What's the worst that could happen?

Well. I can tell you what the worst that could happen was: I'd lost the feel of the Alt History/Fantasy and couldn't keep the headspace required for the sci-fi and a new cast of vastly different characters. I hit a hard wall and lost momentum on TWO stories.

 It was a long slow road to sort myself out. I went back to the beginning of the story and worked through what I'd written from the start. Performing a mini-revision on a third of a story isn't something I ever wanted to do (especially considering the mental anguish dwelling on my early drafts causes me), but it was exactly what I needed.

So, for the time being I'm writing exclusively on the Alt History/Fantasy and only jotting outline notes on anything else.

I know writing multiple stories at once is certainly possible, and I might be able to do it someday. I'm nowhere near there yet.

Lesson learned.

- Alex

The Writer's Voice 2014

The inimitable Brenda Drake is running another contest called The Writer's Voice. I entered the Rafflecopter. I sang to it. And I got selected.

Without further ado, here's my entry:

Query

Dear Writer's Voice,

Ren is the best thief in the walled realm of Lenmar. Which is no small feat when everyone from the queen to the lowliest peasant has some level of magical ability—everyone except Ren, that is.

Instead, Ren has the rare ability to identify the kind of magic wielded by others. Given his chosen profession, this should be a boon . . . especially since everything worth stealing is protected by spells and bindings. 

Yet, he’d trade it in a heartbeat to be normal.

When one of the realm’s most powerful noblewomen is murdered in ritualistic fashion and no trace of the killer’s magic can be found, Ren becomes the prime suspect. Hunted by magic-eating Inquisitors and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Ren’s life becomes one of flight and fear in a battle to prove his innocence.

If Ren wants to clear his name and protect the people he cares about, he’ll have to catch the real killer. To do that, he needs to pull one more high-stakes heist—

And steal the proof he needs from the very people who want to catch him.

Complete at 90,000 words, CROW’S BLOOD is a Fantasy Thriller in the vein of Robin Hood. With dementors. It is a standalone with series potential.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Alex Pierce

First 250 Words

A sharp crack echoed in the silence. Ren winced. Without special tools or a talent for Fire to heat the lead around the pane, breaking in this way couldn't be done quietly. He had neither, and that much heat might set off the binding sigils and raise the alarm. Besides, it seemed louder than it actually was. He'd tested.

He lifted the segment of colored glass and settled it to one side, leaving a gap a scene depicting the Goddess and her four Scions holding the Adversary at bay. No hordes of guards or swarms of librarians boiled out of the hole. So far, so good.

A shaft of the Other's pale moonlight lit a small circle on the intricate mosaic near the center of the floor far below. 

To Ren, it said something about the Praetorian Order. They lavishly decorated their inner sanctum—where select few ever went—while leaving their public libraries grim and barren. Stealing from them was less than they deserved.

He had a job to do. 

The silken black rope uncoiled into the opening with a whisper. Ren swept his satchel so it hung behind him and sprung into the gap, dropping along the rope's length. 

He ignored the butterflies in his stomach and their vain attempt at flapping to slow his descent. Catching the rope at the last possible moment, Ren guided it with his hands and wrapped his legs around it, halting his free-fall.

Righting himself, Ren touched down into the silence with a flourish and a bow.

Don't Ever Stop!

So... This little thing called PitchWars happened. It's what triggered this particular post, but it's not what this post is about so I'll cover it very briefly.

It's a contest where writers submit their first ~250 words and a Query to the four mentors of their choice and hope to get selected. In short (because I'm rubbish at being brief) I was selected by the Awefantabulous Renee Ahdieh.

Renee is exactly what I want and more importantly need in a mentor. Her feedback has helped me add layers of depth to CROW'S BLOOD that I knew were missing, I just couldn't see where. I've learned some of my pet phrases, identified some comma issues I have, and so much more, and I've exterminated them with prejudice.

Anyway!

Seven weeks later, our part in PitchWars wrapped on January 22nd as it went to the Agent Round. The first 250 words were posted with a 35 word pitch (here in case you're interested), in hopes of Agents commenting and making requests.

It's those requests that bring me to the point of this post. I had 0 requests. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Let me tell you a bit about how this little writer's ego works: I'm a brash, cocky, confident bastard. Except when I'm not, which is often. The key is that I try not to let that side show to the world at large too much. The only person who sees that side of me most often (my wife) does a great job of propping me up so I can continue being the confident bastard that I am.

I'd be lying if I said getting zero requests didn't sting. It cut pretty deep. Those are my words! Right there, with that zero looking me in the eye, I could have quit. Packed it all in and reclaimed my TV and video games. I could have given up the dream and driven my wonderful wife insane.

I could have listened to the mean voice in the back of my head that kept whispering "Zero, that's how many people give a damn about your words. That's what they're worth. That's what your worth. Give it up. Go home. Loser!"

I've heard that voice before. That's the voice that comes around any time I put myself out there, whether I'm public speaking, writing, tweeting, or posting on my blog. I don't like that voice. I made the decision long ago not to listen to that voice. That voice is an asshole. The things it says aren't true and are designed to cut us where it hurts the most. That voice is borne of fear.

We all have that voice. The difference between those who go on and those who fold isn't a matter of skill, or worth, or ego. It's a matter of will.

So here's what I have to say, not only to those who didn't get requests in PitchWars, but to those who have ever queried, or submitted, or done anything that brought around that voice:

Don't. Ever. Stop.

Do what you love, whether it's writing, drawing, dancing, singing, building life-size models of X-Wings out of Lego, whatever it is, as long as you love it (and it doesn't hurt anything).

As for PitchWars... Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! I've learned so much, and met so many wonderful, dedicated, and helpful people.

Until next time, I'm going to go write and revise, because that's what I do, and I love doing it.

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me." - The Bene Gesserit

An Open Letter to all PitchWars Mentors and Mentees (from a Mentee)

For the past few years Brenda Drake has run a crazy level contest (over 2,700 submissions/675 entrants)  on her blog called PitchWars. Let me just steal some words from her description:

Pitch Wars is a contest where published/agented authors, editors, or interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and offer suggestions to shine it up for agents. The mentors also critique the writer’s pitch to get it ready for the agent round. Writers send applications (query and first page of manuscript) to the four mentors that best fit their work. The mentors then read all their applications and choose the writer they want to mentor for the next five weeks. Then we hold an agent round with over a dozen agents making requests.

Sounds pretty awesome doesn't it? Well, as someone who was cherry-picked by a ninja-Mentor this year (the AMAZING Renee Ahdieh) with CROW'S BLOOD, I can confirm that it most definitely is. I'm hard at work based on her editorial/critique notes. It's keeping me quite busy.

Here's the thing: I've seen a LOT of Mentors tweeting and commenting that they hope their Mentees don't hate them for being too harsh or nit-picky with their notes. I have a single word response to that: Impossible!

So, Mentors:

First: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I say that from the bottom of my heart. Even if you're not my Mentor and we're technically competing against each other: Thank you! You're awesome, amazing, and wonderful people to be doing what you're doing.

Now, onto the rest of it.

Don't pull your punches! We understand that they're thrown with the best intentions (ok, so maybe that's not the greatest metaphor). Keep giving it to us straight and professional, we can handle it. We're not made of fine gossamer glass.

You have to trust that we know our work isn't perfect, or we wouldn't have entered PitchWars in the first place. Moreover we know that you know our work isn't perfect. You got a look at it before you picked us. In many cases you saw more than the 5-page sample from the original submission.

You're giving your time and effort, not to mention expertise and insider knowledge to help us get our work into the best shape possible in a limited window of time. There isn't time to pussy-foot around playing nice. We need to get the job done.

On the flip-side: Mentees:

First: Congratulations, you were selected by a Mentor as either a primary or an alternate. That means you've got some chops. Take a few moments, pat yourself on the back, and inflate your ego.

Done? Good. There's a lot of work to do.

There's a certain level of trust every Mentee should be bringing to the table. Trust that we're in good hands and that every note that comes across that table is an effort by our Mentor to improve our work.

That said, the bulk of the hard work should fall on our shoulders. It's our book. This is our shot. We can't afford to miss it. Every last one of us should be taking this opportunity and holding on to it, squeezing it for all it's worth to get at the soft golden centre.

If your mentor gives you some hard truths that's a good thing, they're paying attention. We all have our natural talents, those bits of writing that just flow, those aspects of the work that we could sink ourselves into for days (plotting, dialog, world building, description, etc.). But we all have our weaknesses that we can only compensate for with craft (Shatner Commas, making that character that we know inside and out feel real, punctuation in general >.<).

Craft = Work. In many cases Craft = Hard Work. That hard work is why you're here. If your writing was perfect you wouldn't need a Mentor. So if your Mentor shines a light on the rust and broken bits of your story, don't complain.

Roll up your sleeves. It's time to get to work.

-Alex

P.S. Renee has been fantastically professional, if the other Mentors are half as good as she is there's going to be one hell of a fine showing at the Agent round.

P.P.S. I'm aware I could use the word protege, but Mentee is a word, regardless of what my browser, word processor, or operating system say. There are many reputable sources.

P.P.P.S. At some point we need to have a long talk about split infinitives.

NaNoWriMo 2013 Kickoff

50,000 words in 30 days. Fifty-Thousand words!!!! In THIRTY days! That's a hard thing to type without throwing in some expletives. It makes me want to go all Sam L. Jackson.

November is National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo if you need a short form that makes people look at you funny). The deal is, you have to write 50,000 new words (minimum length for a work to be considered a "novel") within the confines of the month of November. I've "won" 2 years in a row and I intend to win a 3rd, so I'm going to be sticking my little NaNo progress tracker over at the right and updating it as I go.

This year has some significance in that I'm starting a new project AFTER completing a full novel. So I'm writing something completely fresh that's really only been bouncing around in my brain-pan for a few months. It's going to suck! And that's OK because first drafts always do for me.

You see... I'm somewhat terrified by the whole "starting from scratch" thing. Sure, I have an outline (a very light one) and characters (the core at least), but I both LOVE and HATE this part of writing. The blank page. The uncertain future of the story. It fills me with quickly alternating (almost to the point of oscillation) high levels of excitement and dread.

I can do ANYTHING with this story! What if I SCREW it up? This idea is so AWESOME! What is it DERIVATIVE of? Oh I've got this FANTASTIC twist. How the HELL am  I going to pull it off?

Truth be told, to begin to even quiet those feelings (they NEVER go away) I need something to work with. I've found my comfort zone, and it's much closer to the revision end of the spectrum than the writing end.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE telling stories and making things up. Plotting, characters, worlds, I love all of it. I just like telling them well (and I do hope I do).

So today I embark on NaNoWriMo 2013, with a story in my head and a knot in my stomach. What are YOU doing for your November?

Circling, Spinning, Twisting, Turning.

And that's just my stomach!

It's been a busy couple of weeks.

You see, I finished CROW'S BLOOD and started querying, which is no small task on it's own.

Researching Agents:
There are plenty of websites (such as QueryTracker) to find out the basics about agents, what they represent, who they represent, what their query guidelines are, etc. But the best source is always going to be the agent's website. It's maintained by them (or someone on staff) and they direct what goes onto it. It also doesn't hurt to dig through their trash (I'm kidding, don't dig through their trash!).

It goes beyond just finding the agents that represent what you want to publish though. It's important to find an agent that fits YOU. They don't represent your book (ok, some do), the best agents (in my opinion) represent their authors and their authors' careers.

On Querying:
It's incredible how much time agonizing over and rewriting a single sentence in your query letter can be. I mean, it has to be perfect. Take that and multiply it by the number of personalized sentences, then the number of agents I queried and that's a LOT of time!

Then there's the matter of following submission guidelines. Beyond the query letter itself, and doing research on what the agents had for breakfast the last six days running (research is important) following the submission guidelines is key. If you don't submit your query, pages, and/or synopsis to the agent you've carefully selected in the exact method (e-mail with or without attachments, font, spacing, size, content, specific data points, etc.) that they prefer you could have the next best-seller and they won't even read it!

After you've queried you get rejections. They're guaranteed. For the agents it's a subjective thing, not every book is perfect for every agent. They have to be excited enough to invest in it and "sell" it to editors.

If you don't get rejections (yay!) you might get requests. Requests can take a few different forms (usually in the following order):

• Partial Requests: A request for a set number of pages or chapters
• Full Requests: They want the whole thing
• You might also get... nothing. The silence of no response is maddening!

Revise and Resubmit Requests:
If the agent likes your Full they might send an R&R. A Revise and Resubmit means they're excited about it, but it has a few problems. It's an opportunity for them to let the writer know that, while at the same time see how the writer takes criticism and direction as well as their work ethic.

Now, I've never made it so far as an R&R (yet), but it's my opinion (and my understanding from talking to others who have been there) that you don't have to just go along with it. If you have reasons for some things in your story, you can stick to your guns (or swords, or spells, or magical necromantic chipmunks, or whatever).

Could pushing back against changes hurt your chances with an agent? It could, but that doesn't mean it will. One of the key points of the whole query process is to find an agent that you can work with. There's going to be points of disagreement (unless you're both robots trying to STEAL MY JOB!!!). It's the points of disagreement and how you handle them that's key.

What Else?
So, aside from going through the query grind and getting started on a Rejection Letter wallpaper, what have I been doing?

• High-level outlining the sequel to CROW'S BLOOD
• Brainstorming ideas and starting to outline them. 
• I'm sitting on 6 full book ideas at the moment with 2 of them pushing to the forefront.
• Writing vignettes on those ideas to get a feel for the characters.
• Slowly working my way through 2 of my CPs latest drafts.
• Reading (for fun)

So... What have YOU been doing?

Doing My Homework

I have 3 full critiques back on CROW'S BLOOD, for which I must give heartfelt "Thank you!" to my Epic Critique Partners: Colton Hibbs, Clare Mitchell, and Rachel Russell.

Not only did each of you trudge your way through my last revision, you took the time and effort to provide me with detailed and insightful criticism. Some of it is so obvious now that you've pointed it out that I don't know how I didn't get it right the first time. Your notes will make my work better (if I'm up to the task), and that's awesome!

All of them (and the partial Critique I received from the lovely and talented Kat Ellis) highlighted one pretty major problem: It takes far too long to connect with my main character Flynn (and even longer in some cases to like him at any level). As he's the main POV, that's... awful.

Here's the thing: I know these characters, every one of them. You can ask me a question and I can quickly tell you how each one would answer it. What sort of things they would like and dislike. How they would react under certain circumstances. I can even describe the mannerisms, idioms, and rhythms of their speech. From my main character, down the the smallest side character, (yes, even to the one guard that sucker punches my POV character).

I can't tell you what they had for breakfast (unless it's relevant), but I can get inside their heads if the need arises.  I didn't do this by building out detailed character sheets or writing throw-away scenes with them (though I did that for some more prominent characters).

It's just something I do whenever a new character is created. I put myself in their shoes/boots/socks/sandals and work my way through them. What motivates them. What are their goals in life. It usually comes pretty quickly.

Problem is: It wasn't coming across on the page. So what was wrong?

That's where the homework came in. I've spent the better part of my evenings reading, and doing exercises from a workbook on Deep POV, while it's not perfect, and I don't necessarily agree with everything in there. It's written by a professional who certainly seems to know what they're doing (at least considerably better than I do).

The best part is the exercises. I've read plenty of websites describing and giving examples of how to give good character, and great POV, but none of them went so far as to give relevant exercises in a work-book format. Something about it all just "clicked" (I think).

So I went through that workbook (it's only 60 or so pages), did all the exercises, and took a look at my own Work In Progress. What. A. Mess. I have "tells" everywhere (something I tried desperately to avoid and clean up last pass), narrative separation/distance, and my POV character does indeed seem flat and voiceless (he's NOT like that in my head). I have my work cut out for me to reel this sucker in to a deep POV.

Needless to say, it's going to take a while for me to hit my stride on this revision pass, and I may reach out to some of my CPs earlier on (if they're amenable to looking over some small chunks) to see if I'm on the right track, or ruining what good I had. I've spent most of this evening (my first night back at revising my own work) and have only worked through the first 5 or 6 paragraphs.

Like I said, slow going. But I'm trying to be careful with my new powers, to ensure that I employ them for the forces of good.

As for copy edits, and Canadian (not "British") spelling vs. American spelling, and my blatant and continued misuse of commas... I'll get to them, once I've sorted out my critical character issues.

- Alex

Once more, with feeling!

Ahem. So, staying in character, I've been neglecting my blog. For a while there I was easily dropping 3 updates a week. It's been nearly a month since my last update.

So a quick (hahaha, no, not really that quick) rundown of what's been so damned important that I haven't had time to even drop a few lines here.

I have a Critique Partner, the wonderful and insightful Colten Hibbs, who was kind and gracious enough to let me into his beautifully realized and deep faerie tale world. I made it my first priority, above even my own writing, to read through his draft, and provide him with meaningful feedback (which I hope I've done). He's now hard at work on his next draft, and based on our discussions, I can't wait to see this next one.

Colten was amazing enough to give me a marked up copy of CROW'S BLOOD with loads of goodies and notes that are improving my writing ten-fold  (I hope).

Going through those notes I cheered (at the parts that were important to me that he just GOT), grimaced (at my own failings and some of the gunk he had to sift through), and had some incredibly awesome revelations. 

I have to share the biggest of those revelations with you.

One of the points that's been brought to me repeatedly was that it takes too long to get attached to the MC (Main Character). Colten highlighted that he didn't begin to feel even remotely attached to (and at points wasn't even sure he liked) the MC until around Chapter 6!

That's a death sentence for a book folks. That's it! It's over! 99% of readers will drop a book considerably faster than a bad habit if they're not engaged and buying in to the MC by the end of Chapter 1. Clever blocking and world building can only get you so far.

New light was shed on this problem (which I had absolutely no idea how to fix, and maybe still don't) when Colten pointed out that I have several Spot POV Chapters, where it's the only Chapter you ever engage with that character, where I manage to do it right. They're engaging and connect you with the character, in that single chapter.

I'd like to say I had a Eureka moment and got to run down the street in little more than a towel, but alas, it's not that simple. But I had somewhere to start! It had been sitting there, right in front of me, for months... Critique Partners bring fresh eyes indeed.

I studied those chapters, making notes and everything. Then I studied them again. Then I studied them again. Ok, so that's how I do it. Fantastic. 

Now why couldn't I do it with my MC?

I, uh, don't know. Except perhaps that I maybe have too much time to spend with my MC?

I spent the first week wrestling with Chapter 1. I wanted to add more insight into the MC without killing the pace (I like the pace I've set). I think I've achieved that, and I've since moved on, all the way up to Chapter 11, making little touches here and there, and giving a little bit more of the MC (also, making him a little more consistent).

My word count is shifting a bit (getting a little longer), but I'll be ruthless in keeping it under 100,000.

Depending on where my other Critique Partners are in their read-throughs, I may ask them to go with this latest draft, or I'll just sit on it until their feedback comes in, and parse theirs too, making any changes I feel warranted.

So that's what I've been up to, and now that I'm back in the swing of the writing side of things, I'll get back to updating my blog a little more often.

- Alex

Zug Zug

Remember that little progress bar to the right? Take a peek at that sucker!

BAM! That's right. Revision 4 complete! It took considerably longer than it probably should have, but Real Life™ tends to not care what we have planned.

I put every spare moment I had into getting it done (hence the disgusting lack of blog updates). The problem being that spare moments weren't as plentiful as I'd hoped they would be. That said, in the interest of getting it done, I've learned a new skill.

I can now revise, out loud, in public places, with lots of distractions. Sure, people probably thought I was crazy, and it didn't go nearly as fast as when I hide in my writing cave, but it was time to revise I didn't have otherwise. I've now revised out loud in places such as hockey arenas, train stations, hotels, coffee shops, and book stores.

This revision was a game changer, and I have to say, I'm going to do an out loud pass on everything I write from here on out (yes, including this blog entry). It makes such a difference to the flow and clarity of the written words. There's something about engaging the speech and hearing centres of the brain that catches all the crud the eyes miss.

Take another look at that progress bar, see the numbers under it? That's 4,598 words shaved off the word count, all in the name of clarity. And it wasn't just 4,600 words dropped, it was closer to 7,000 words cut, then more words built on top.

During this process I won a 40 page critique from Kat Ellis on her blog. Her feedback was AMAZING, and I tried to take it into consideration throughout the rest of the draft. I can only hope I succeeded.

I've put the latest in my DropBox for my Alpha Readers, and e-mailed copies to 2 of my 3 current Critique Partners (Colten Hibbs, Rachel Russel, and Clara Mitchell). Now it's all over except for the terror... and feedback.

- Alex

#PitchMadness

#PitchMadness is a contest run by the fantastic/wonderful/hard-working/must-be-crazy Brenda Drake. You can read a great deal more about it on her blog. The contest submission window opened at 6am this morning and closed at noon. Here's the thing, a bunch of my favourite people in the Twitter Writing Community are involved, either as Blog Hosts and Slush Zombies, or Agents (4 of my Top 10 list of agents are involved!!!).

After some prodding from my friends in the community I made the jump and entered. The time of my submission? 6:05am. No, I didn't get up that early just to submit (there was no cut-off, and after 11am is more my style), I was up for a hockey tournament.

Even if I don't make it to round 2, this is an experience, and I'm meeting a fair number of new people at a similar stage in their writing aspirations. So it's a win no matter what happens.

The submission requirements were: A pitch of no more than 35 words (which is a LOT harder than you think, YOU try summarizing your favourite book in 35 words or less while sounding original AND grabbing attention), and an excerpt of the first 250 words.

Here's my submission:

Title: CROW’S BLOOD

Genre: YA Fantasy

Word Count: 100,000

Pitch:

Flynn, a talented young thief, is the prime suspect in a series of grisly ritual murders. He’s also the kingdom’s best chance to find the real killer. He’ll just need to pull one last heist.

Excerpt: 

A sharp crack broke the silence of the cavernous Inner Sanctum of the Praetorian Order, echoing off the vaulted ceiling and the stained glass dome at its centre. A small segment disappeared from the scene depicting the Goddess, her four Scions, and her Adversary. Pale moonlight, mostly from the Other, the brighter of the two moons at that hour, struck downwards to light a small circle on the mosaic near the centre of the floor in the great library. The larger moon, Ambrosia, having just crested the horizon, wasn’t bright enough to lend its pink hue.

The black rope uncoiled down the shaft of moonlight with a soft whisper. Flynn vaulted into the gap, and dropped along the rope’s length, matching the speed of its fall. He grabbed on to slow himself only at the last instant, and touched down soundlessly.

Looking back up at the hole in the stained glass, he could make out the silhouette of his mentor, Martin, framed against the glowing white spectre of the Other. He couldn’t make out any of Martin’s features, backlit as he was. Flynn knew there would be a scowl set deep in the older man’s lined face. Martin worried too much.

Crouched in the centre of the great library, Flynn turned in a slow circle to get his bearings. He mentally compared the layout with the map he’d memorized in the days before. Spotting one of his landmarks, he set off into the concentric rows of heavily laden bookshelves. 

Long years of practice meant the only sound Flynn made was the faint ripple of the air past his close fitting, mottled-grey outfit. 

Revision Update and Agent Fears

Here I am, hip deep in my out loud revision pass and getting on to some much cleaner chapters. There are a number of pitch contests and (self-imposed) deadlines coming up this month that I hope to have CROW'S BLOOD ready for. I'm still on schedule for my goal of querying agents by the end of the month.

I'm going to update the progress bar on the right to reflect how far through this pass I am. It'll be a rough estimate, but it'll do.

Querying is something that absolutely terrifies me. I find the whole idea somewhat paralyzing.

The problem stems from Twitter. You see, I started tracking Agents down via Twitter (which is an awesome resource for writers to get to know other people in the industry) and following them.

In the course of following them I've connected with quite a few. Some to the point where I greatly value their connection beyond an Aspiring Writer<=>Agent connection. Those connections have gone on to the point where I'd like to hang out with these people even if they weren't a potential resource for my writing career.

Our personalities seem to mesh, and damn it, I like their style! It also helps that they're all great at their jobs and know what they're doing enough to freely give help to the community. It's because I like these people and value them so much, they're exactly the agents I want to query. They're people I think I can work with.

That's where the problem comes in.  I'm afraid to query them! What if they don't like what I send them? What if they find out I'm a hack who takes 5 revisions before his story even resembles a cohesive mess? What if they don't like me any more? How will I face them on Twitter or at Cons if I reveal so much of myself to them through my writing? What if I, in all my awesome horribleness, am the "writer" that makes them close their "please submit your next work" door, or even quit Agenting (I know it's not a word!) altogether?

I picture cabals of agents I adore getting together for a good maniacal laugh over a brandy in a NYC bar while scribbling all over my book in red marker.

ARGH!!!

Breathe damn it.

I've considered only submitting to contests, which, while entertaining, and a great way to meet other writers and agents, still doesn't necessarily get me working with the agents on my top 10 list (yes, I have one).  I've actually considered querying agents I don't know... Just so I won't potentially damage the pseudo-relationships I have with the agents I like... How broken is that?

The other pitfall of this neuroses I'm developing is endless revision. When will I ever consider something "good enough" to send to the agents I like? How do I let go? What if I let go too soon?

To you other writers that read my ramblings, have you gone through the same things? I sometimes wish I'd started writing before the internet made connecting with people so far away so easy.

Critique Partner Adventures of the Nitpickasaurus

I've been looking for a Critique Partner as I do my Out Loud Revision pass, using CPSeek.com and Twitter. Both have brought me results of a sort.

There have been a few Critique Partners that I've exchanged chapters with (usually the first 3), and I've done my best to be fair and honest while critiquing their work. I'm always afraid I'll come off as a jerk or some sort of Nitpickasaurus. Given the evidence, my specific critique style is most definitely NOT for everyone.

I'm ok with that, as long as everyone who lets me see their stuff realizes I'm critiquing the WORK and NOT them. It's a hard separation to make as a writer, as our work is so much of us laid bare. It's our time, effort, love/hate/happiness/anger/lust, and a bit of our soul on those pages.

The key, I find, is to always keep the goal of critiquing firmly in mind, both when going over someone else's work, or reading their notes on your own. That goal is to help the writer become better at the craft, and to help them make that manuscript the absolute awesomest it can possibly be. I'll throw in the odd bit of "best practices" I've picked up from others in an effort to help on some of the pain points. There are some really helpful people out there doing podcasts and articles, etc. I'll link a few at the bottom of the post.

With that in mind, I try my hardest to give a critique without stepping on a writer's voice or style. It's not my business to tell someone what to write, or even how to write. I just try to tell them where what they've written doesn't work for me, isn't clear, or doesn't flow well. I may even catch the odd bit of problem grammar or spelling (though not as often as I probably should).

Well, whether I am a jerk, or a Nitpickasaurus, or some other hell-spawn made flesh to torment other writers, I've found at least one CP who doesn't run screaming for holy water at my mark-up notes on their work!

Colten Hibbs, say hello to my thousands (x .001) of blog readers! Colton has a wonderful writing voice and a good sense of character, and I look forward to both of us helping the other develop as writers.

I have a few other CPs lined up for when they're ready, and I'm really looking forward to seeing their stuff too. I'm still quite nervous about letting others see my work, but that's part of the deal. I still have an awful lot to learn.

- Alex

Links!

• Write About Dragons Youtube Channel: A fantastic video log of Brandon Sanderson's classes at BYU
• Writing Excuses: A ~15 minute/episode podcast all about writing with Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Mary Robinette-Kowal
• I Should be Writing: Mur Lafferty's podcast that has launched so many others. It's the longest running writing podcast for a good reason.
• Dead Robots Society: Funny, informative, rambling, and a little bit blue from time to time, but a good resource for interviews and lengthy discussions on writing topics.
• The Roundtable Podcast: Their "20 Minutes With" sessions are invaluable insight into different Authors and their processes, and their Workshops often give real-world implementations of those processes.
• Wordplay: A wonderful series of videos and transcripts discussing just about every writing topic imaginable
• Nat Russo's Blog: Where Nat Russo does a great job explaining just about everything.
• The Daily Dahlia: Home of Dahlia Adler and where she shares her endless wisdom. 

There are many more out there if you look around (and several other people's blogs that I follow) that I haven't listed here.

The Power of Description

I've been struggling with this very concept from the start. Description is NOT my strong suit when it comes to writing. I think I do plot, character, and action reasonably well, what I tend to skim over is description of setting.

I'm conflicted on how much effort I should put into improving it, and I think I'll have a better idea once Crow's Blood (BookB) has been in the hands of a few CPs and my Alpha Readers have had a chance to go through it start to finish.

I've been trying to come up with a way to get my point across. I've been handed the perfect tool. I want you to go watch something, something that may well blow your mind. Alan Rickman making tea...

Go ahead. I'll wait.

Back? Good. Hopefully you watched the whole thing, it gets real right around 4 minutes in. Back again? Fantastic!

Now you've just watched 7 minutes of Alan Rickman making tea in slow motion. Tell me, without going back to look at it, what did the room look like? How about the wall behind him? The desk? I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I could tell you more about the look on his face, or the tea-bag, or the lemon than anything else in that video.

That's my point, and I want you to argue with me about it. If the action and the characters are compelling enough, do I need to do more than give the absolute basic framework of the surroundings? Crow's blood weighs in at ~100,000 words/~430 Manuscript pages (unedited), and it's reasonably fast paced.

I try to provide what description is necessary, while avoiding great gobs of exposition that will mess with the pacing and ultimately be forgotten. I'm sure I'll have more to discuss on this after I get finished with this revision (7 chapters to go) and work through my first round with some Critique Partners, but I want to know in the comments (if possible) if anyone else feels the same, or if I'm crossing some line in the sand of fiction?

Oh and I really just wanted everyone to watch  7 minutes of Alan Rickman making tea, because it's AWESOME!

- Alex

Avoidance Techniques

So here's a quick update. Just so you can't say I didn't give you one!

I've noticed I'm stalling. I've caught myself avoiding getting into revision right away (before tonight, I hopped right in tonight), and I know why. Fear, Insecurity, and Doubt. Yes, I know that capitalizing them like that is against the rules. Sue me. They deserve it.

I'm now 5 days past when I wanted to have this revision done so I could start the whole "send this puppy out to critique partners so they can rip me a new one" phase. Basically, the part of the process where I find out on some level just how bad it is and how much more work there is to do on it. The thought of that terrifies me. What if it's crap. What if they laugh at me?

Well, I've decided two things.

1. I'm not going to rush it, I'll finish the revision when I finish it.
2. I'm not going to drag my feet any more on it.

So, that's all for this little update. Back at it!

M.m.m.m.madness!

I've been neglecting my blog. That's bad. That's one of the things I said I wouldn't do as a New Year's Resolution.

I could give all sorts of excuses: work stress, spending every free moment revising, I don't know what to say. All very valid and true, but still just excuses. I'm supposed to be some sort of creative beast aren't I? Just make it up!

Well, I'll work on that. In fact, I'm working on a topic list for myself so I can cover them any time I don't have something else to blog about. It means you're going to hear my opinions on some writing stuff, and they could be way off base.

I've been revising my butt off, and I accidentally entered an awesome after-contest by the lovely Brenda Drake (#PitMad on Twitter), where I had to fit my pitch into a tweet, minus some characters for tags etc. Call it a fit of ego, I had to see if I could pull it off. I was a bit confused when the first person favourited one of my tweets. Wait! What? They want a Query letter and pages?!?!?!

Needless to say, my MS was/is SO NOT READY! I haven't done my "out loud" pass, and I didn't even have a query letter! In a fit of madness I did a few passes on the pages and wrote a query letter. Then I let it all sit over night so I could look at it again in the morning.

I slept horribly. Took another look at it, cleaned some stuff up, and sent it off. In the 4 days since I've found all sorts of ways to clean up those pages and make them even better, all while working on later parts of the book too.

I can only hope the literary gods and those fine upstanding Agents will still talk to me in a month or so when I'm all set to send it to them again, all nice and clean.

Until then, um, sorry...

Of course, I've been pretty unbearable on the home front because of it. Last night I packed it in early with a big dose of I SUCK and went to bed.

Today I'm dropping that and digging back in. I'll re-submit to those 3 Agents with an apology when I get things cleaned up. No hard feelings if they don't read it a second time, the fault is mine.

I have 12 chapters left to brush up on this pass, then a round with CPs for plot and character consistency while I go over the dialog etc. out loud. Depending on how long that process takes (it's my first time so it may be rough) I should be ready to go on submission in March/April.

Lessons learned.

What's in a name?

...that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

- Romeo Montague to Juliet: Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare

Character names, book names, chapter names, pen names. They're all malleable to one degree or another and there are choices and reasons for all of them. 

I started thinking on the topic tonight because of an article on io9.com about character names that should be banned for all time (of which I have used... none!).

Spiralling into the topic of names was so rough on my overworked brain that it almost derailed my revision session this evening. 

You see, I write under a pen name: Alexander C. Pierce or Alex C. Pierce. It's not my real name, though Alexander and Pierce are my 2 middle names, which, when bookended by my first and last name sounds almost as awesomely pretentious as Benedict Cumberbatch (best name EVER!). I include the C. at this point because a Google Search on Alexander Pierce brings up such a HUGE list of results including convicts, authors of propaganda, and so much more, that I needed a bit of separation from what is apparently a very common name.

I use a pen name for a few reasons, not the least of which is that I have ideas and themes for stories that may be controversial that I don't necessarily want to blow back on my family. Nothing too outrageous, but I'd rather not put other parties at risk. I also have a long standing tendency to NOT use my real name online (outside of work, though Facebook has ruined that to some degree... thanks family and friends!).

But the subject of names goes so much further, as the article on io9 aptly points out character names can play a big part in engaging or putting potential readers off, and they're not exactly easy things to come up with. For a time I used a program called Everchanging Book of Names, which was great for secondary characters if you could figure out how to use it (it's not that hard once you read the instructions). I've come to understand Scrivener itself has a name generator built in, which I haven't used yet as my characters all have names at this point.

I couldn't tell you where half the names of my characters come from, but I haven't received any negative feedback on them yet (though I have heard some interesting thoughts on where I might have cooked some up). I only hope they're not derivative of some other work that's sitting in the back of my skull because I think they're awesome! (the io9 article points out that might be a problem too).

As for chapter names and book names... I'm flexible with those and they tend to change on a fairly regular basis at this point in the process. From what I understand if I go and get published the publisher will have a say in it as well and I'm ok with that.

What are your thoughts on the use of pen names? How do you come up with names for things? Let me know!

- Alex

P.S. Chapter update for my Alpha Readers, I've dropped up to chapter 23 and I'm starting to get feedback from multiple people! Thanks!